'My body's not really recovering as well as I'd like' – Neilson Powless battling away at Tour de France despite uneven top form

Prior to this year's race, Neilson Powless said that taking a first-ever Grand Tour stage win or finally getting into the yellow jersey were his two key goals for the Tour de France.

It's true that, so far, neither of them has happened this year, as Powless' top condition is, he says, not quite as consistent as he would like.

But the American has both made a key contribution to helping teammate Ben Healy achieve both, and remains determined to help Healy defend yellow when racing resumes in the Tour de France on Wednesday.

One of no less than four EF Education-EasyPost riders in the break that took yellow with Healy on stage 10's ultra-hilly slog through the Massif Central, alongside the new Irish leader of the Tour, Harry Sweeny and France's Alex Baudin.

And now, Powless told Cyclingnews during the Tour's first rest day, the next goal will be to play a key team role – and hope his top form kicks in as the race progresses.

"Honestly, my legs are smoked today," he said, "they were already smoked yesterday, but I made a good effort to get in the breakaway."

"So I'm definitely feeling the first 10 days, I'm not recovering as well as I'd like, but hopefully the rest day will help me bounce back for the rest of the Tour."

Going into stage 10, Powless said, "Nobody was expecting yellow when we went in the break, at most we thought Ben would go up the GC a bit or have a chance at another stage win. It developed on the road."

"Visma wanted the race to stay on [behind] for a bit longer, but the fact they had two riders in the breakaway in there, and the fighting stopped sooner – that really helped Ben's bid for yellow. We could roll a steady pace, and UAE lost a lot of riders early on. It helped the break get more time if it had been stop-and-go."

Healy's presence at the top of the GC and success all-around is indirectly benefiting Powless, the American said, because the pressure is off him a lot to perform, so he can concentrate fully on getting up to full strength.

"Obviously I want to be better, and I'm hoping to be better in the next two weeks. But I can't tell you how good it feels to have someone that good in the team right now."

He had never, as far as he could recollect, been in a break with so many teammates. But the size of the break, with 29 riders in it early on, perhaps helped that, and being in that unprecedented situation certainly made for a good feeling for Powless.

However, his own condition remains a concern, at least for now.

"I feel like I'm able to push myself over my limit a little too easily," he explained. "The first week, I had some pretty impressive numbers, but my body's not really recovering from it as well as I'd like.

"It's just been like a wave I've been trying to ride on highs and lows."

So his strategy going on, he said, will be that "Ben showed he's on a level that's far above where I'm at right now. So whatever he needs, I'm willing to do.

"Yesterday, I essentially had a chance to use my legs to try and win something or contribute something, so it showed where I'm at right now.

"I feel like I have the legs to make an impact on the race, but it doesn't feel like I've got the legs to win. We still have a lot to gain in this year's Tour, and hopefully I can contribute in a big way."

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